Permanent Hearing Loss

Permanent Hearing Loss

Although permanent hearing loss is observed in lesser number of children than temporary hearing loss, it has several causes with greater impact. The principal reasons creating permanent hearing loss in children are:

Genetic causes

Infections

Drug-related

Physical trauma

Unknown reasons or idiopathic

Genetic Causes

It has been observed that at least 50% reasons behind congenital hearing loss are genetic. The same type of gene resides in every cell in our body. Gene controls every cell in human body about how they are going to work. When any kind of change takes place in these genes, it is known as ‘mutation’. When mutation happens, gene cannot do its normal duties. In case of X-linked hearing loss, if the mother carries recessive trait of hearing loss in sex chromosome, then that can get transmitted, if her offspring is male; however, with females, the chance is nil.

Again, hearing loss can happen over genetic syndromes. About 30% genetic hearing loss cases are syndromic types. The syndromes, which are observed largely in such cases, are:-